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Statement

Veto of Paid Sick Days Bill a ‘Betrayal of Maryland’s Working Families’

May 25, 2017
Paid Sick Days

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

Statement from Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, CEO and Executive Director of MomsRising.org, a national online and on-the-ground organization of more than 30,000 Maryland members and more than 1 million mothers and their families across the country, on Governor Larry Hogan’s veto of the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act
“Governor Hogan’s veto of the Healthy Working Families Act is a huge disappointment and a betrayal of Maryland’s working families, and of the legislators in both the state House and Senate who passed it.  
 
“Currently, 750,000 working people in Maryland do not have any paid sick days they can use to care for themselves or their children when they get sick. This means working Marylanders often must make impossible choices between a paycheck and their health, or the health of their family members. As is too often the case, people of color, and particularly women of color, suffer the most from lack of access to paid sick days – approximately half of Latina workers and more than a third of African American women currently cannot earn paid sick days.  
 
“Governor Hogan acted callously in vetoing a bill that would provide financial relief for workers, improve the health of families and boost our economy.
 
“Governor Hogan made the wrong choice, but we are not giving up. The fact is that HB1 passed both the State House and State Senate with enough votes to override this veto and we call upon our state legislators to override the veto as soon as possible.
 
“Maryland workers, families and communities need the Healthy Working Families Act. MomsRising is proud to be part of the Working Matters coalition, which has led the charge for paid sick days in Maryland for the past five years – and we will continue fighting for earned sick days in the state for as long as it takes. We intend to see this bill become law.”
 

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MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, decrease discrimination against women and moms, and to build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families, including criminal justice reform, immigration policy reform, and gun safety. MomsRising is working for paid family and medical leave, affordable, high quality childcare and early learning, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes women — particularly moms and women of color — and so many others. MomsRising advocates for access to healthy food for all kids, health care for all, earned sick days, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.